The Doctor's Patient
by leahcar197
Summary: Isabella Thomas was a dead-girl walking. "Why are you telling me this?" "You're lonely, stuck in a job going nowhere, in a horrible city, wishing for more out of life." "How can you tell that?" "Your eyes. They show everything. You want more, you long for it."
1. Chapter 1

I sighed, taking a break from reading The Black Stallion for the umpteenth time, staring out the glass door, another boring day at the library. I honestly had no idea why this place was still open. With the Internet, and Wikipedia alone, no one had any need for libraries, unless they were college students getting away from their dorms. I picked at the fake wood covering my desk. As head librarian, my job was, quite possibly, the most boring job in existence. I literally sat here all day doing nothing, because no one came in anymore.

I felt another cough sneaking its way up my throat. I sipped some water to try and subdue it, fruitlessly. I coughed into a tissue seconds later, not stopping for a good twenty seconds. Pulling back from the fit, I saw more blood on the tissue. Unfazed, I wiped my mouth and threw the tissue into the trash.

The bell above the door jingled, I didn't expect to hear that until the end of the day. I looked up from the book again, to see a tall, lanky man walk in. The man was dressed in a tweed jacket, a bow tie, button down, pink plaid shirt, and black trousers with matching shoes. His hair was brown and floppy, swooped to one side of his head. Overall, he was dressed like a goofy college professor.

He grinned and ran over to me, "Hello! I was wondering if you might be able to direct me to the Shakespeare section?" he asked. He seemed to be as giddy as a little kid when their mommy takes them to an ice-cream parlor.

"Yeah, sure," I marked my place and stood up, "This way." I noticed he eyed my bookmark as we passed. It wasn't anything special, just a list of places I wanted to visit and things I wanted to do before I died.

"Nice bookmark. Did you make it yourself?"

I nodded, "Laminated it and everything." I stopped in front of all the Shakespeare books, "Here you are. All the copies of Shakespeare's works we have in stock."

He grinned and picked up a book of all of his known sonnets. He thanked me and sat down to read. I walked back to my desk.

The lanky man in the bow tie stayed the whole day, he occasionally came up to ask me random questions. I enjoyed his company; for once I wasn't alone all day. He looked into my eyes a lot. I disregarded it; most people say it's polite to look into someone's eyes when talking to them.

When it was time to close up the library, he looked upset. He was in the middle of reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I almost wanted to keep the library open for longer, but I couldn't. He said he'd return tomorrow, which made me happy. I finally had someone to talk to! Another living being in the library! No more endless silence!

* * *

I stood facing away from the spray of water, letting the showerhead spray my back as I examined my scarred arms. My arms were no longer bruised, but the places the IV's went into were still visible. My hair had, thankfully, grown back somewhat, but not to the length it once was. I had what most would call a pixie cut, now. But, I would still be bald if my insurance had still been able to cover my treatments. Sadly, the small amount I made as a librarian could no longer cover my cost of living and insurance. I had to make a choice, keep eating and a roof over my head or keep up my chemo treatments. Unfortunately, the apartment and food won.

I dug my nails into my palms as I tried to keep myself from crying. I knew I was going to die soon; my leukemia was progressing to near fatal stages when I stopped the treatments six months ago. I'd been coughing up blood more frequently every day. I knew I was just a walking time-bomb, waiting to die.

I sighed as I stepped out of the shower, wrapping a small towel around myself. I left my bathroom door open and walked into my bedroom, where I saw the man from the library sitting on my bed. I screamed, and ran into my bathroom to grab shampoo to spray in his eyes.

"WAIT, wait, I'm not here to hurt you! Honest, I'm as harmless as a bunny!" he pleaded.

I turned, armed with the shampoo bottle, "Why should I believe you? This is a bad neighborhood; anyone can be a criminal. Everyone knows I'm a single woman, a librarian at that, no one here to protect me." I walked closer, examining him, "What are you? A stalker? A rapist? A thief? A murderer?"

He looked puzzled at my question, and didn't even seem to notice my state of undress. He snatched the shampoo from my hands, "This wouldn't harm anyone, especially not me…" he sniffed it then tossed it aside, "Watered down, wouldn't sting anyone's eyes too badly." He walked past me into my bathroom. He ran to my sink and lifted up the soap, "Now, liquid soap, that would be a decent weapon!" he declared as if he made some huge discovery.

I was getting pissed, "Hey! You awkward baby giraffe, you never answered my question! Who the hell are you and why are you here? Did you follow me home?" I yelled, trying to hold my towel up.

He returned his attention to me, "Yes, sorry. I'm just passing through. I caught a distress signal from UNIT and my transport landed me here. No idea why, she never usually lands me in random places without good reason."

I was taken aback, "There's more of you?"

He looked upset at my question, "Not anymore. I travel alone now."

"Oh…sorry. Who's UNIT, and this 'she' you mentioned?" I questioned as he fumbled around my bathroom. I was allowing him to look in cabinets and drawers, seeing as I didn't have anything of value.

"UNIT, the Unified Intelligence Taskforce. They investigate and combat paranormal and extraterrestrial threats to the Earth. 'She' is my transportation." He answered bluntly.

"I thought you said you were traveling alone?" I questioned.

"I am." He answered, closing a drawer with my hairbrush in it.

"Then who is-" I was cut off by a phone ringing. "I don't have a phone…" I trailed off.

He turned to me, "That's mine." He ran off to answer it. I followed him and overheard a conversation, "Yes, yes I'm on my way. *pause* Just made a pit stop. *pause* No, she decided it. *pause* The TARDIS that's what caused it! Look, I'll be there soon. Ok!" He slammed the phone down as I walked into the room.

I stopped in my tracks, "What is a 1950's Police Box doing in my kitchen?"

He grinned and patted the side of the box, "This is my transportation."

"This," I lifted one hand from holding my towel up to gesture at the blue box, "is the 'she' you were talking about? And how is this any mode of transport? Do you walk in, arrest yourself, and wait for the police to take you places?"

He shook his head, "No, no. It's a time-machine and spaceship all in one. This is the TARDIS. That stands for Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space. And she's all mine."

I laughed slightly, "That can't be true."

He opened the door, "Want to see?"

I was about to go in when I stopped, "Why are you telling me this?"

He gave me a small smile, "You're lonely, stuck in a job going nowhere, in a horrible city, wishing for more out of life."

My eyes widened, "How can you tell that?"

"Your eyes. They show everything. You want more, you long for it."

I turned from his gaze, "Well one look wouldn't hurt…" He grinned and held the door open for me. I walked in and my jaw dropped. It was another world on the inside. There was a massive…console of some sort in the middle with a tube going from it to the ceiling. The entire room was filled with futuristic looking technology. There was a staircase in the back that probably led to more rooms. I stammered, trying to find words, "It's-"

He smiled, "Go on say it. That's my favorite bit."

"Smaller on the outside…" I finished.

His face dropped, "Well…that's certainly one way to put it…"

"But it's beautiful!" I exclaimed, "Are you from the future?"

He said, "No, I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey located in the constellation of Kasterborous."

I turned to him, "You're an alien?"

He smirked, "Yeah."

"Nice one?"

"Pretty much."

"And this ship," I gestured around, "Can travel anywhere, any when, in all of time and space?"

He grinned from ear to ear, running to the console, "Yes, anywhere, any when, the entire universe at your fingertips…that is…as soon as I get UNIT sorted out. There's some sort of alien warship orbiting the planet because one of their soldiers is now UNIT's prisoner." He faced me, "Want to come?"

"Travel around all of time and space with a man I just met?" I almost laughed.

He smirked, "But you didn't just meet me. You met me earlier today."

"I don't even know your name, and you don't know mine."

"I do, I saw your nameplate on your desk, Ms. Isabella Thomas." He walked up to me, looking into my eyes again. "And I know you want very much to say yes to my offer."

I looked at the ground, "Is this what you do? You show up in someone's life, randomly, and whisk them away in your spaceship? How can I know that what you're telling me is true?"

He took a few moments to think of an answer. Then he said, "Trust me."

I looked into his eyes with determination, "Prove it."

"How?"

Smirking, I said, "Give me five minutes to get dressed then take me to this UNIT and let me ask them about you."

He, finally, noticed I'd been in nothing but a towel the entire time. His face flushed redder than an over-ripened tomato and he turned his back to me. "F-fine, I'll be here," he stammered.

As I was about to walk out, I turned back to him, "You didn't answer another one of my questions. What's your name?"

"Me?" he asked, his back still facing me, "I'm The Doctor."

"Doctor Who?" he had to have another name, no one is called 'The Doctor'.

"Just The Doctor."

"Your name is The Doctor?" I asked for clarification.

"That's what I'm called, yes."

"That can't be true. What did your mother name you?"

"I can't tell you that. Just call me The Doctor, or Doctor if you want to forget the The in my name. Some do that for conversational talk."

"Why can't you tell me your name?"

"I just can't. It's something I'm never supposed to do…It's a Time Lord thing." He tried to dismiss the topic. "Now please go get dressed."

"Alright, see you in a bit then, Doctor," I walked out, closing the door behind me.

* * *

_**AN: **_If any of you were wondering, yes, I did re-post this from a joint-fanfic account I have with a friend of mine. I am Stark from MikaStark. This is MY original work. So….what did you think? Come on, be honest? Should I continue this? R&R por favor!


	2. Chapter 2

(3rd POV)

Isabella sat in the captain's chair of the TARDIS, watching The Doctor dance around the center console. She smiled as she watched him flick switches, turn knobs, press buttons of all shapes and sizes, and pull levers so that he take them who knows where at a random date.

After they sorted everything at UNIT out, The Doctor asked her to accompany him through time and space for as long as she wished. Having no ties to anyone or anything (besides her job of sitting all day at the library) she accepted his offer with a grin on her face.

'Maybe he'll entertain one of my bucket-list dreams…although alien planets and adventures in the past sound WAY better than most of my ideas…' she thought while staring at all the lights and circuitry below her (AN: You know how Matt's TARDIS has the see through floor?)

"Izzy!" The Doctor turned to look at her, "Can I call you that?" She nodded and he grinned, "Brilliant! Now then," he jumped around the TARDIS center console to stand in front of her, "I have us in orbit around a red sun. So, Izzy, where and when would you like to go?"

She smiled, "Surprise me."

He shook his head, "No, I want," he reached into her lap to grab the book she was holding, her bookmark placed where she last stopped, "To go somewhere, some-when, on this list here."

She looked at him, astonished, "But…why? Those are all places on Earth. They're not anything special!"

He cocked his head to the side a bit, "Not anything special? Well, if they're not anything special," he pulled out the bookmark, handed her the book (open to the page the bookmark was marking), and walked towards the entrance of the TARDIS. He opened the door; "I guess you won't mind if I throw this out into space, if the places aren't anything special…"

She got up and ran to him, grabbing onto his arm that was cocked to throw the list out, "NO! I'LL CHOOSE! I'LL CHOOSE! Just…don't throw it out…Please…"

He smirked, "They must be special, aren't they?" She nodded in response. He ruffled her short brown hair. "Alright then, so, Izzy, where and when do you want to go first?"

* * *

(1st POV now)

On my first, official, trip as The Doctor's Companion, the first place on my list was to visit the Sequoia National Forest in 1950's California and explore.

The Doctor decided to park the TARDIS in a cave away from the public eye (seeing as how police boxes were more of a British thing and were not typically placed around in the middle of a national wildlife reserve).

He grinned as we left the safety of the blue box. "Welcome to the Sequoia National Park. The year is 1953 and we landed in the midst of summer. These mountains are just crawling with protected wild life-" he continued to lecture me as we hiked up the mountain to the lodge to join people on a tour.

We had been walking for about 5 minutes and I could tell something was wrong. I hadn't seen so much as a squirrel since we'd landed…something had to be wrong.

"-and don't even get me started on the-"

"Doctor," I cut him off, "Something's wrong."

He stopped walking and looked at me, partly puzzled and partly insulted, "What could possibly be wrong?"

"Where are all the animals? We've been walking for over 5 minutes now, and I haven't seen any…" I trailed off.

The Doctor looked around, pulled out his screwdriver and started scanning. He looked at the device and his face fell. "No, no, that can't be right…"

I started getting worried, "Doctor…what's wrong?" He grabbed my hand and started running back the way we came. "Doctor!"

"I'll explain-"two spears were thrust in our faces, "now…I guess…" he trailed off.

* * *

Apparently, where the Doctor goes, trouble is sure to follow. These alien rhino policemen {The Doctor called them Judoon} had the place on lock down. They were looking for an escaped prisoner who can shape-shift. The Doctor called it a Zygon and said it naturally {when it's not shape shifted into anything} looked like a big red thing with tentacles and suckers.

The Doctor and I had to get "catalogued", so that the Judoon wouldn't arrest us. All they did was scan us with this light…thing and mark our hands with a pen of some sort. It was weird, I don't know.

I ran off while The Doctor was getting catalogued to have a coughing fit. I ran into the women's restroom and coughed into paper towels at the sink. In the midst of my fit, someone started rubbing my back. When the coughing subsided, I didn't even bother to look at the towel before I threw it into the garbage.

"You alright there?" I turned and a woman with a lovely face was behind me. "That sounded and looked awful." She stated.

"Yeah…it happens a lot." I shrugged her concern off as I washed the blood from my hands.

"Are you sick or something? You don't look it." She inquired.

I decided to indulge her curiosity, "I have leukemia."

Her face dropped, "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be, it's not your fault." 'or your problem' I continued in my head.

"That guy you're with certainly is attractive. Is he your husband or something?"

I laughed, "No, more of a good friend. But, he did tell me he was married." Which was true, during our visit to UNIT the other day, someone named Martha Jones-Smith asked The Doctor about him being married. He then told me that yes, he was in fact married and that his wife would pop around unannounced. When I asked why, he didn't get a chance to tell me because the aliens came up on screen to negotiate.

"Oh, are you on a trip with the two of them?" She asked.

I said, "Look, I need to go. He's going to get worr-" I didn't even get to finish my sentence.

"Izzy, come on we're going top help the Judoon search for the Zygon!" The Doctor walked in and said.

"Doctor! You can't just burst in here whenever you like! It's the women's restroom! You could get arrested for this!" I yelled at him as I pushed him out."

"Sorry, but after you ran off I got worried and followed you. I waited outside but you were taking FOREVER!" He complained as he led me to the Judoon.

* * *

"So…"I said as I walked next to The Doctor, watching the Judoon catalogue more people and life-forms along our trek through the mountains, "This happen often?"

The Doctor laughed, "It's usually more dangerous than this, but yeah…I tend to run into a lot of troubling situations."

"How long until they catch that Zygarde thing?" I asked.

He scoffed, "First of all, it's a Zygon. Secondly, you impatient or something?" he asked as he pulled out his screwdriver and searched for any non-native energy readings.

"Nah, just hate the smell of those guys." I said as I pointed to the Judoon, "They smell worse than a rotten egg shoved up a hippo's ass." He laughed, but then his face fell and looked serious. "Doctor-"

He shushed me and stopped walking. The Doctor suddenly turned around and ran towards a granite-faced mountain peak in the west. I followed him, dodging shrubbery and trees as I went.

After a few minutes, The Doctor suddenly stopped, causing me to bump into his back. "Oh aren't you a beauty…" I could hear him smiling.

I moved to look over his shoulder, "Doctor, what are you-" I cut myself off and just stared. "What is that?"

* * *

**AN:** MUAHAHAHA I AM EVIL! I know, I cut it off at a good part, but this is a good 3.5 pages on MS word! I didn't want to make it too long...

Anyway, Reviews would be much appreciated! Thank you TheDoctorFiona for reviewing on chapter 1, favoriting, and following! Also, thanks to WhovianTributeSherlockian and millap for favoriting, as well as Peacefuldeer21 for following! :) You all made my day!


	3. Chapter 3

I was dumbfounded as I gazed at the huge metallic…thing in front of The Doctor and I. I had no idea what it was, but I had a bad feeling about it. "Doctor…what IS that?" I trepidatiously asked.

He didn't answer me as he moved closer to the mass. "Oh, you are simply gorgeous, yes you are!" He pulled out his sonic and scanned the silver entity.

"Do-" I cut myself off. I ran off back the way we came. I stopped pretty deep and, hopefully, out of earshot of The Doctor. I supported myself against a tree and, without covering my mouth with my hands, coughed and hacked up my lungs…well, not literally.

After I finished coughing, I noticed I had a nosebleed. I walked to a tree relatively far from the one I coughed against and sat down, resting my aching body. 'It's getting worse…' I thought. I had bone pain since before I was diagnosed with this fatal disease, but the nosebleeds only happened when I took a turn for the worse. I pinched the tip of my nose and tilted my head back against the bark of the tree, hoping the nosebleed would stop before The Doctor showed up…if he ever did.

So, you might be wondering why I'm going to such great lengths to hide my leukemia from The Doctor. The answer is, I am, quite simply, comfortable with dying. I already said my goodbyes to my parents, who both died in a car crash a couple years back. So, beyond The Doctor, there is no one I would be hurting. Who cares if the future has a cure for this disease? I'm no one important. I'm just a lonely, sick, librarian who lives in a bad part of town. I have no friends, family, or an important job. Who would care if someone like me were to kick the bucket? I signed my body up to be donated to science, so it's actually beneficial if I die.

I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the feeling of the sun and wind against my skin. Nature was so calming, it always brought me out of the dark recesses of my mind. I pondered the possibility of an afterlife for quite a while, just enjoying my surroundings while pinching my nose.

Finally, after what seemed an hour had passed, "THERE you are, Izzy! Why did you run off?" The Doctor returned. I opened my eyes to see my favorite alien staring down at me. "Why are you pinching your nose? Did you get a nosebleed?"

I let go of my nose and felt, it seemed like the bleeding had stopped. I nodded and tried to wipe the dried blood off my face.

"Oh, poor Izzy. Here, let me." The Doctor reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pack of alcohol wipes. He grabbed my face, and brought it closer to him, wiping my face for me.

"Why do you have those?"

"Never know what's going to happen, so I keep stuff in my pockets." He let go of my face and placed the pack back into his pocket. He grinned, "The fact that your face started bleeding is absolutely brilliant."

I felt slightly offended, "Why is my facial blood so brilliant?"

"I'll explain later, right now, we need to tell those darn Judoon that we're going on our own little expedition!"

* * *

When we found the Judoon again, The Doctor called off our part of the Zygon search…only to find out that the Judoon already found and recaptured the Zygon. They were, apparently, just about to leave Earth to go back to Stormcage and imprison the red-tentacle covered-suction cupped creature.

When we left the lodge again, The Doctor was practically skipping in glee. He seemed so excited he could hardly keep still.

"So, are you going to tell me why my nose-blood is so brilliant?" I asked, trying to keep up with the childish Time Lord.

If possible, he grinned even wider, "Because, my dear Izzy, we're not JUST dealing with Zygons here, we're dealing with vampires."

"Did you say vampire, like, Dracula Vampire?" I was stunned, "Those actually exist?"

"Oh, yes. They're very real and very dangerous. Last time I saw one I was SO much younger." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver, pressed a button, and started walking north. I followed, of course.

"Younger, you say? But you're hardly much older than I am!" I was 26, and he looked to be, maybe, early 30's.

"Yeah, a little over 800 years ago was the first time I saw one." He stopped, read something on the sonic, and turned left, and we continued walking.

"Sorry, did you say 800 years?"

He nodded, "Yep, I'm just over 1200 right about now…probably closer to 1300."

"No, you're not! You MUST be pulling my leg!"

"Time lords have this thing we do when we're about to die. We completely change our biological make up, including brain cells. I get a new body, new face, new personality, new everything. But, I keep my memories, so I'm still me. I'm just a different me. I can look as young as a child, or as old as Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore himself." He suddenly stopped in the middle of a huge clearing. He started turning in circles, "According to the sonic, they should be right around here…OK!" He turned to face me, "We're going to flush them out tonight!"

* * *

We had been waiting for HOURS for the sun to go down. I had run from The Doctor twice to go cough my lungs out. Thankfully, I had not had another nosebleed.

Dusk had fallen about an hour ago, and we left the blood-stained alcoholic wipe in the middle of the field. The Doctor was messing with his screwdriver, and I heard something hissing near the bushes to our left, "Doctor…"

"Not now, Izzy, I'm busy trying to recalibrate-"

A very tall figure with glowing red eyes, and a dead-white face appeared in the clearing. "Doctor!" I urgently shook his arm, trying to get his attention, "Doctor, there's a-" his sonic went off and the figure turned to face us.

It hiss and ran towards us. The Doctor and I sidestepped out of the way and started running, it followed.

"What is that thing?" I asked, reaching for his hand.

He grasped mine, "A vampire, a particularly nasty vampire!" he gleefully answered.

"Why are you so happy about it?"

"Because I know JUST how to deal with it!" He pulled me against him and he ran to the left. The vampire was following us so closely that it didn't have time to change direction before it fell right into our trap.

A necklace of garlic was thrust upon its neck and bright light from several torches (flashlights) were blasted upon it. (AN: going off information from and basing this vampire on the ones that the Second Doctor encountered. Please forgive me for any inaccuracies because I have not yet watched the original Doctor Who series, though I'd like to.) The vampire fainted from overstimulation of its weaknesses.

The Doctor pulled chains from the inside of his coat pocket. He looked at me expectantly. I sighed and helped him tie up our little vampire friend.

**FLASHBACK TO A COUPLE OF HOURS AGO:**

"Excuse me." A group of people turned their heads to face The Doctor and I. "Good, hello there! I'm The Doctor and this is my friend Isabella. I know, I know, you all just had a bit of trouble with some space rhinos, am I right? Well, I need to ask of all you wonderful people just one tiny little favor. There's this vampire…"

And that's how The Doctor got the help of all those people to throw a necklace of garlic around the vampire, and shine a lot of torches on him.

* * *

The Doctor landed the TARDIS on another planet and we let the vampire roam free.

"Ah, it feels good to help a homicidal species return home!" I smiled, sitting in the captain's chair, once again, watching The Doctor do his thing at the center console.

"How about a victory dinner? We could stop by this quaint little restaurant I know of in the Cygnus A galaxy. In the year 397600Q, they have almost every sort of cuisine imaginable-" he was cut off by a gunshot-sound coming from a little device on the console.

I flinched, instinctively, when it went off. Living in the bad part of the city does that to you. "What the bloody hell was that?"

The Doctor giggled a bit awkwardly, rubbing the nape of his neck, "That would be the way my wife tells me to pick her up…Do you mind if I-"

I held my hands up, "No, please do!" I smirked a bit, "I'd LOVE to meet the missus. I'm sure she'd be delighted to know that her husband has been running around, alone, with another woman for the past few days…"

He laughed, "She knows I do that, it's alright. She won't be jealous in the least!" The Doctor skipped around the console, piloting us to wherever his wife was.

I stood up, almost wincing in pain. "While you get her, I'm going to go to bed, that adventure exhausted me. Wake me up when you guys are done doing…whatever it is you do with her."

"Alright, night, Izzy!" He didn't even look up or stop what he was doing.

As soon as I got to my room, I almost collapsed on my bed from the pain. My body felt as if I had just run a couple hundred miles, several thousand pull-ups, and maybe a few dozen crunches. I was aching absolutely everywhere, I was stiff, and it even hurt to breathe! I felt my nose drip and held my hand to it to catch whatever came out; it was blood. I pulled my clothes off until I was just in my knickers and bra. I was burning up. I knew, I just knew, that I had a fever, and tonight might just be my last.

* * *

**AN: **Hey everyone! Thought I'd let you know that this series is coming to an end. I didn't plan for it to be longer than 3 chapters, but it looks like it's going to be 4-5 hehe…yeah. Short fanfics are what you get when your main character has leukemia and has already accepted her fate! Anyway, thank you all for the support; special thanks to John Smith and, once again, TheDoctorFiona, for reviewing. You guys are awesome 3 See you in the next (and possibly last) installment of The Doctor's Patient.


	4. Chapter 4

(3rd POV)

"Finally, I was wondering when you'd give me a night out!" River exclaimed as she hugged her husband. "I missed you." She pecked his cheek.

"River, we have a guest on board…" The Doctor trailed off as he looked around for Izzy. "Ah, that's right…she went to her room…"

River looked curiously up at The Doctor, "Who's she?"

The Doctor grinned and led River towards the console, "She would happen to be my new companion. Her name is Isabella, but I can call her Izzy, and she is absolutely brilliant!" he started to gush about her, and River just smiled. She was glad that he was able to get past the "deaths" of her parents and be happy with another companion. From what she could tell, this Isabella was an alright girl.

"River, are you listening to me?" The Doctor snapped her out of her daze.

She smirked, "No, sweetie, I was admiring you." She sauntered over to him, "How long before she comes back?" She trailed a hand around his collar-bone.

"She said to wake her up whenever we wanted." He answered, not paying attention to her.

She gave him a flirtatious grin, "Perfect."

* * *

The Doctor, River and Isabella traversed the stars and Time Vortex as they pleased…until one day, Isabella was walking down the stairs to the console room when she suddenly blacked out.

River caught her before she hit the ground, "Doctor, she's burning up!"

He ran over, after setting the TARDIS adrift in the Time Vortex, canceling their next destination. He laid his hand on her forehead, scanning her with the Sonic with the other. He looked at the results, "To the med-bay…NOW."

* * *

(Izzy's POV)

I have no idea how long I was asleep for, but I woke up in a brightly lit room with The Doctor and River arguing in front of me.

"How could we not tell that she's ill? It may as well be tattooed on her forehead!" River sat in a corner, she had obviously been crying.

"She didn't act it! Loads of people look ill but are actually fine." He sighed.

"What's going on?" I asked, my voice hoarse and weak.

That snapped them out of their slumps. The Doctor rushed over to my bedside, "There you are," he said sweetly to me, brushing my hair out of my eyes, "How do you feel?"

I smiled, "Like shit, but what else is new? How long was I out?"

His face fell, "A couple days. You're in the TARDIS med-bay, now." He hugged me, "I was worried…I thought…"

I sighed and hugged him back, "I'm fine, Doctor. I'm a strong, independent woman who don't need no man. But, I certainly wouldn't say no to the aid of my Time Lord friends."

River tugged me out of The Doctor's grasp and into her own bone-crushing hug. "Hey sweetie."

"River…can't….breathe…" I was turning blue, I could feel it. (**AN: I feel like River would be a bear-hugger. I don't know why, I just picture her as one of THOSE huggers, you know?**)

She let me go, and I turned to face The Doctor. He was looking at me with this face that…I can't even describe. It felt as though he was looking through me and into my very soul, it was crushing and powerful. "Isabella…Why didn't you tell me...?" I felt like crying, my secret was finally out. He knew…"I could have helped you, saved you! You could have been cancer free!" He argued.

"That's just it, Doctor. I didn't want to be saved." I looked down at the sheets.

"What do you mean?" River intervened, "If I was in your position-"

"But you're not." I took a deep breath, "Beyond you and The Doctor, I have no friends. So, I figured, if I were to die, I wouldn't be hurting anyone. Who would cry over someone as unimportant and insignificant as a librarian? But then, I met you, Doctor…and you…when I met you…I felt as though I could ignore it. I could pretend to not be the girl with the terminal illness. I could be the Isabella Thomas I was before the diagnosis! But, I knew that my time was running out when I decided to run away with you…"

"So, why did you hide it?" River asked, "Why didn't you tell him from the get-go?"

"I…I don't know. It's not like I just go up to people I meet and say, 'Hi I'm Isabella Thomas, a person with stage 4 leukemia.'"

The Doctor chuckled. I smiled, "I guess I didn't want pity...He told me, when he met me, that he could tell I longed for more out of life…and that was true. I wanted more time, I wanted to see more, I longed for it. And now…I've had it. I've been to alien planets, times long past, fought a vampire-for fucks sake. I've done more in these past few weeks with The Doctor than I ever thought possible. But, all good things must come to an end, mine rather abruptly."

River sighed, and ran her hand through my short brown locks, "The Doctor said that if he had known earlier, he could have given you an elixir from the year 5 billion and 23 that would have cured you…but your leukemia is too far gone…"

I swallowed a lump in my throat, "So…how long-"

The Doctor sighed, "About an hour…most likely less…"

I felt like crying, but The Doctor looked broken. I reached up and took his hand, "Don't be so upset, Doctor. You saved me, believe it or not."

"How did I save you if you're still going to die?"

I smiled, "Because, these last few days with you and River have been the best of my entire existence. Now, I understood what Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore meant when he said that death is but the next great adventure. You've brought light into my lonely world. Ever since my diagnosis, all I've seen life as is a waiting period until we die and become nothing, but now I can embrace it with open arms."

He stared at me, and after a few minutes, I saw him crack a smile. It was a small smile, but a smile nonetheless.

* * *

Isabella Janine Thomas passed away (in Earth time) on the same day at the same time that she left. In her time, she passed on August 9, 2014 at 12:28am. (**AN: that's the time I wrote this sentence. I figured a random time/date would be appropriate…don't kill me**) She told him, just before she died, that she donated her body to science, and the money that was to come from that was to go to an orphanage. She wanted some good to come from her death, and it did.

The scientists were pleased to have a corpse that had leukemia that died from minimal chemo-treatments to study. From what he could uncover, Isabella only had chemo-treatments for about three years. She had survived with none for five years. It was, as the scientists called it, a medical miracle.

The orphanage was more than glad to accept any donation, even if where the money came from was rather unsettling.

The Doctor was broken, to say the absolute least. He had lost 3 companions to death (or "death" if you count the weeping angels with Amy and Rory as a death). He made a vow with himself, after dropping River off at Stormcage (after having his last night with her in his current incarnation), to never let himself get too close to anyone again. He was forever more going to be the type of Time Lord that the elders wanted him to be. He was going to observe the passing times, and nothing more. He was never going to involve himself or meddle with events ever again.

* * *

**AN: Well, that's it for this story. Thank you to everyone who stuck with me! Sorry it took so long to update, but this chapter was difficult to write, and tbh, I'm still not completely happy with it…but I couldn't modify it in such a way that I felt more comfortable with it…I just…I'm not a good writer when it comes to things like death and emotion…Well…yeah…I'm thinking of starting a RoTG or Ouran fanfic next. Whichever one I decide should be published within the month!**


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